Business owner believes homeless Branson man was assaulted during arrest

Jun. 28, 2013

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A homeless Branson man is getting assistance from a local business owner who believes he was assaulted while being arrested Tuesday.

While a police summary of the arrest says the homeless man resisted and threatened an officer, the business owner says he believes police used unnecessary force, based on firsthand accounts from witnesses and video.

The business owner — who has hired a lawyer for the arrested man — also believes he has a disability that prevented him from understanding police orders.

Justin Dayle Squyres, 33, was arrested Tuesday outside of a McDonald’s on Missouri 248 after police had been called by the adjacent Country Mart grocery store, according to a probable cause statement used to charge Squyres.

Police say they were called by the manager of the grocery store after Squyres, who is banned from the store, was told to leave. Squyres has past municipal convictions for trespassing at that location, according to the statement.

When police arrived, Squyres was sitting on the grass in front of McDonald’s with his two dogs — a scene familiar to locals, according to Summer Winds Resorts owner Pat Joyce.

According to the probable cause statement, Squyres was packing up his belongings when the officer arrived. The officer said Squyers then untied his dogs in an attempt to keep the officer from getting too close.

The officer asked Squyres to put his hands behind his back because he was under arrest, but Squyres said he wasn’t going to jail and sat down on a backpack roll, according to the statement.

“I again asked Squyres to put his hands behind his back and he started yelling saying I was violating his rights,” an unidentified officer wrote in his report. “Squyres hugged his arms to his body and refused to comply with my request.”

The officer said he then shoved Squyres out of his position in an attempt to get him off balance. Once Squyres was on the ground the officer attempted to place him under arrest again, at which time Squyres “tried elbowing” the officer, according to the statement.

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“I placed approximately four closed hand strikes to the side of Squyres neck, possibly missing and hitting the side of his head,” the officer wrote, “in an attempt to stun him to gain compliance.”

The officer said Squyres continued to resist arrest, at which point the officer said he would use his Taser if he did not comply, according to the statement.

“Squyres stated Tasers did not affect him,” the statement says. “I let go of Squyres and took approximately three to four steps back and deployed the Taser in his back.”

As Squyres attempted to remove the Taser probes, the officer placed him in handcuffs, according to the statement.

Joyce, who said he has experience dealing with children with autism, said Squyres acts in a similar way, speaking quickly and not making eye contact. He said he’s worried Squyres struggles to understand directions.

After other officers arrived, they attempted to put Squyres into a patrol car, but he refused, according to the statement.

“We had to use knee strikes to Squyres’ thigh to get him into the backseat,” the report says.

As police were putting Squyres in the car, they were kneeing him in the leg and side, Joyce said, based on a video someone took of the arrest.

“He had taken a pretty good beating,” Joyce said.

The statement says Squyres threatened the officer on the way to the city jail, saying he would rape and kill his wife and kill his children.

Squyres was charged with five misdemeanors, assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, peace disturbance and two counts of trespassing.

When Joyce found out Squyres had been arrested, and had seen the video, he and his business partners decided to step in.

Joyce said they posted his bond and hired an attorney, Michael Horn, to defend Squyres.

Horn said he was currently gathering information for the case and couldn’t provide details, but he expected Squyres would plead not guilty.

While Squyres awaits his next court hearing, Joyce is housing him in a hotel and providing meals. He’s also reaching out to medical authorities in the state to find out if Squyres has previously been diagnosed or treated for a mental illness.

“It’s a sad situation,” Joyce said. “I’m just trying to clean up the mess.”